


Between a Rock and a Hard Place

by AlwaysCastle



Category: Castle
Genre: F/M, Humor, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-02
Updated: 2012-06-02
Packaged: 2017-11-06 16:05:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/420753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlwaysCastle/pseuds/AlwaysCastle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They are on opposite sides of the room but they can't get to each other, unable to move towards each other (they must remain divided) and confined ish (they can't be tied up. No cuffs no rope or hand ties, no duct tape) for a while the only way they can communicate is with eye contact there must be a reason why they can't communicate... They have to be alone. No touching. It can't be a dream or a coma.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Between a Rock and a Hard Place

**Author's Note:**

> Challenge given to me by kimmiesjoy

"Tell me again why we are doing this?" Castle's whiny voice comes from the opposite side of the room.

Kate sighs, leaning back against the wall and wincing a little. "How about you tell me. ." She replies pushing forward. "You dragged me here.. I was content spending a weekend alone."

"Yes but..."

"Yes I know 'who's gonna play with me?'" She mimics his earlier complaint the day before. They were getting into the elevator and each to their own homes at the end of the day when he started in on Alexis going off to school, and this would be his first full weekend with no one to 'play with.' Andhe had looked at her with those eyes of his and she caved immediately.

He grins, resting his hip on the chair. "And you are just the best!" His eyes wrinkle adorably at the corners.

"Need I remind you that this is not 'playing." The moment she says it she regrets it...sort of.

His mouth draws up in that devious way of his. "We can always play later..."

"Castle focus."

"I am focusing."

"I mean on the furniture."

"Oh.. believe me I am.."

"O-kay!" She says, tossing her hands into the air and staring at him and the expanse of furniture between them. "Seeing as.. well.. I am stuck here, and you are stuck there.. and your laser tag is over there." She points in some random direction she thought she saw them when she got here. "And! You seem to think this new furniture was a good idea to put here even though you didn't move your old stuff out first!"

"Do you have a point?"

She laughs, "Seriously?"

He Shrugs.

"I have a game."

"OH! What is it? Can we pretend the floor is lava?" He jumps up and down and claps his hands together once before her glare settles him. "Or..not."

"No, The silent game." She nods her head like it's the best thing in the world when she really just needs some quiet to figure this out.

"Game on!"

She purses her lips and folds her arms as he stands there.

He looks around wildly for a moment and then opens his mouth. "pause?"

She rolls her eyes. "What, Castle?"

"Well I think we should think of a strategy first."

"It's the silent game.. you just.. shut your mouth."

"No not that! This!" He opens his arms to the room full of chairs and couches. "You know it reminds me of that computer game... with the cars parked in a square and you have to rearrange them so you can pull your car out." His brow creases in puzzlement..

She mimics the look, bringing a hand up to her mouth and tapping her finger on her lips. Just as she opens her mouth the speak he yells across the room.

"GAME ON!'

Kate huffs, her mouth closes and she fixes him with the worst death glare of her life. He just smiles and starts to push at the overstuffed chair in front of him. When it falls into a loveseat he stands up straight and surveys the room again. Kate just watches, finding it interesting how his face molds in intricate ways as he ponders deeply. When he looks up at her, catching her in the act, she both understands how creepy that is, but also curious.

He waggles his eyebrows at her, his blues deep and playful, and she softens. She's stuck here.. and being with him is not bad.. at all. In fact.. if there wasn't all this furniture between them she might just-

"Oomph." Her ass hits the back wall and she falls over the back of the couch. Kate pushes herself up, both hands sinking into the cushions and flips her head back, blowing her hair out of her face. When she meets the eyes of Castle, she half expects his eyes to be laughing at her, but instead she sees concern, his leg partially over the loveseat as if he was about to come to her aid.

Kate sits back, squeezing in between his old couch, and his new chair and looks up at him. He's settled a little, but his eyes are now crinkled deeper, the only time he does that is when she is in danger. Although, it's just a couch, and she's fine. So she brushes herself off, and tilts her head to one side and shrugs her shoulders.

She's okay. She seems to tell him. He nods, the smile returning to his eyes before he then jerks his head to the left towards a chair. Kate's looks over and then back at him as he eyes a chair right next to her, and then back again to the left.

She nods her head, bringing her lip into her mouth, looking between the two things until she sees what he sees. She nods again, and then climbs over the back of the chair, her back to him for a moment before she braces herself, back to it and pushes it as far to the right as possible. When it wont budge any further, she stands turning back around to face him looks to see his mouth slightly agape. Another eye roll from her as she inwardly appraises her jeans choice, and then snaps her fingers at him to get his attention.

He shakes his head, and gives her that grin like, yea he was checking out her ass, and yea.. he doesn't care that she knows. She snaps her fingers again and taps her bare foot on the floor.

'Right, couch.' He mouths and then squeezes his way through the maze to the left, and then forces the coffee table in the same direction as her chair.

He fist pumps the air when that leaves the perfect amount of space for him to push his new couch into place. When he looks up Kate is covering her mouth from grinning, but he can see that look in her eyes. The one he almost always misses.. but when he does catch it.. it makes him want to cross the room in one bound and take her into his arms.. which he tries to do before colliding with his old couch.

He hears a slap, and peers up to see she's clapped both hands over her mouth, her body tilted forwards as she tries to hold in her laughter. Castle bobs his head up and down and side to side as if to say 'haha very funny.' And then rubs at his leg faking hurt.

She drops her hands, placing one on her hip and pointing at him. She then raises an eyebrow while gesturing up and down with a head tilt to say he's going to survive.

"Can I say something?" He asks into the silence.

She startles a little having become accustomed to the quiet. "You can, but then you would lose."

"Off the record."

"I don't think it works like that, Castle."

"Just this once?"

"Plan on forcing me to move your furniture again?"

He sighs. "I'm being serious."

Her heart pangs. Panicking now... what could he possibly have to say? Anything would be out of nowhere.. but he looks so serious, and the way he was staring at her earlier like he wanted to bound over all this stuff to get to her..."Okay." She says evenly.

"Does this couch, make my apartment look big?"

Kate laughs, so hard that she falls back onto the floor. "It's not even that funny!" She shrieks gasping for air.

"Then why are you laughing?" He asks, that twinkle in his eyes.

She gathers herself, slinging an arm over the armrest and hoists herself up. "I don't know.. I thought.. never mind."

"I know, Kate."

"Know what?"

"I just know."

"You couldn't possibly know what I was thinking."

"Yes I could, I'm a Jedi like that."

"Then use the force to get all this old furniture out of your apartment."

"The force is not strong with this one.." He says bowing his head.

"I can see that." After a short silence of just staring at each other across the room, Kate thumps her hand on the wall and sighs. "Okay what was I thinking?"

He perks up, and then fakes deep pondering. "You were...thinking about how there isn't a tiger in the room."

Her mouth falls open. 'You got me Castle." She replies as honestly as she can.

"Um.. what?" He stammers.

"That is exactly what I was thinking.. but it's a shame though..." She makes a tsk sound beating her fingers on the chair.

"Wha.. no.. What is?"

"All this furniture is in the way."

"WELL LETS GET IT OUT OF HERE!" He shouts pulling his phone out of his pocket.

Kate starts laughing and vaguely hears him asking for a movers service.


End file.
